Australia Social Media Ban: Google and Meta Urge Country’s Government To Delay Banning Services for Children Under 16, Says Need More Time To Assess Impact
Google and Meta have urged the Australian government to delay its proposed social media ban for children under 16, stating they need more time to assess the potential impact of the measure.
Sydney, November 26: Google and Meta have urged Australia to delay its social media bill focusing on the ban on children. The country encouraged the social media ban to be implemented for children under 16 years of age as social media platforms have been the talking point for the Australian government led by PM Anthony Albanese, who wants to protect the kids from harm.
According to a report by Reuters, Facebook-parent Meta and search giant Google have requested the government of Australia to delay the bill that would ban the social media platforms. The platform demanded that they needed more time to assess the potential impact. The Australian PM Anthony Albanese-led government wishes to pass the bill in parliament by the end of the year. Google Monopoly Case: US Department of Justice and Tech Giant Make Final Arguments Over the Ongoing Legal Battle Over Company’s Monopolist Practices.
The report mentioned that the government was willing to ban most social media platforms for 16-year-old kids with tough controls. This year, the government proposed banning social media for kids because it reportedly harmed them and affected them mentally.
The government introduced the bill in parliament last week, and it was open for the submission of opinions within just one day. However, the timeline to submit the opinion fell short for some companies like Meta and Google. They said that they would wait for the results of the age-verification trial before moving forward with the bill.
The Australian government would introduce an age-verification system like biometrics or government identification to enforce social media platforms about age cut-off. Meta reportedly said that with such results, the industry and Australians would comprehend the nature and extent of the age assurance required by the bill and its impact on Australians. Elon Musk’s Neuralink Secures Approval To Launch Feasibility Trial To Extend Brain Computer Interface Control to Investigational Robotics Arm.
On the other hand, Google has been facing another problem in its monopoly case and had recently concluded the final arguments in front of a US district judge.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2024 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).